Free-spool fishing reel



Oct. 27, 1931. W J. KAUTZKY, JR ,8

FREE SPOOL FISHING REEL Filed Aug. 4, 1950 sion will be applied to saidspring.

Patented Oct. 27, 1931 r l NIED1ST T JOE KAUTZKY, m, or FORT DODGE, IowaTENT OFFI FREE-SPOOL FISHING REEL Application filed August 4,1930.Serial no.47as11,

The object of this invention is toprovide an improvement in free-spoolfishing reels whereby the spool is automatically and positively releasedfrom the windingigear and immediately upon release of the crank by theoperator, as for making a cast. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedconstruction. for av freespool fishing reel'fincludingmeans for accomplishing a forced disengagement of thegea'rs through-a clutch mechanism,such disengagement beingiaccomplished by an automatic backward snapactionof the crank through the instrumentality of a retractile spring.

Another object of the invention is to provide improvedmeans forconnecting one end of the lretr'actlle spring yieldingly to the windingmechanlsin, for limited movement,

insuch manner as to insure that uniform ten- Still another object of theinventronis to provide an improved free-spool fishing reel involvingpositive and'certainmeans for engaging and disengaging the clutchconnections between the crank and the spool.

A further object of the invention 1s to pro- Vide an improvement infree-spool! fishing reels in which provision is made for msurmg that thefree-spool clutch will not be released when a sudden outward tug on theline occurs through the strike of a heavy fish which would tend to forcethe crank from the operators fingers; thereby preventing the spoolv onof a quantity of uncontrolled line.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combinat on of the various parts of mydevice, whereby the objects con,-

templated are attained, as vhereinafter more fully set forth pointed outinmy claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigurel is a front elevation illustrating:

my improved free-spool'fishing reel.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same. Figure 3'is a cross section onthe line 3 3 of Figure 1. c I Figure 4 is an enlarged section on theline 4 1 of Figure 3, illustrating portions of the gear and clutchconnections between the winding crank and the spool. V f

Fi re 5 is a detail section on the line 55 of igure 4, illustratingparticularly the means, for yieldingly mounting one end of theretractile spring which imparts abackward snap action to the windingcrank .upon

release thereof. I I

Figure 6 is a] detail section on the line 6-6 of Figure 4. illustratingthe clutch connections between the winding gears and the releasedposition;

Figure 7 is a similar view showing the clutch connections inengagedposition.

Figure 8 is a detail'section on the line 88 of Figure 6, illustratingparticularly the pawlcarrier and pawl. i i

The fishing'reel includes a skeleton cylinspool, said connections beinghereshownin drical frame consistingprimarily of spaced discs or headplates 10 and 12, connected by a plurality of spaced cross bars 14,other parts bemg employed which are not concerned with mypresentginvention and which are shown more or lessconventionally,

A spool 16 issuitably journaled for rotation within the skeleton frameand is adapted to receive a fishing line 18 to be wound 1 the spool 16'.

- The spool 16 is rotatably mounted on a spindle 28 whichprojectsthrough an openmg 30 in the head plate-wand is carried by the outer wallof the housing 24 asshown in Figure 4.- The oppositeend-o-f the spindle28 is suitably carriedby the head plate 12.

Rotatably' mounted on the spindle 26 within the housing24 is a spur gear32'whichis formed with a sleeve'34 projecting through the outer wall ofthe housing and squared at its end to receive a hand crank 36.

The spur gear 32 meshes with and is adapted to drive a pinion 38 whichis rotatably mounted on the spindle 28 of the spool Within the housing24. I

The end of the spool 16 adjacent to the head plate 10 is recessed and aninternal ratchet gear 40 is mounted therein and secured to the spool asby a close drive fit.

The teeth of the internal ratchet '40 are adapted to be engagedselectively by a tooth 42 formed on a substantially circular pawl member44 and said pawl member is formed with a central opening of irregularshape defining an internal cam surface designated by the numeral 46.

A cam member 48 is mounted within the central opening of the pawl member44 and is suitably formedto engage the internal cam surface 46 formoving the pawl memend to form a jaw or shoulder 52 cooperating with asimilarly but oppositely formed jaw or shoulder 54 on the inner end ofthe pinion 38. By means of this connection the cam member 48 is causedto be rotated with the pinion 38 when the handcrank 36 is turned.

Such connection first causes the cam member 48 to be turned freelythrough a portion of an arc in the direction of the arrow a in Figure 6to engage the left hand side of the ,cam surface 46' and cause the pawlmember The pawl carrier 58 is a peripherally grooved to receive asubstantially. annular spring 60 WlllCll has one end turned laterally toform a post 62. The post 62 is seated in one or another of a series ofnotches 64 .formed in the wall of the opening 30 of the head plate 10and by this means the pawl carrier is yieldingly Q anchored against freerotative movement. y

The result of this method of mounting the pawl carrier and pawl memberis that the pawl member 44 is permitted a limited rotarymovement on thepin 56 under the infiuence of the cam member 48 when moving in eitherdirection,

When the pawl member 44 has been moved to the left as indicated inFigure 6 for caus ing an engagement of its tooth 42 with the ratchetgear 40, continued rotation of the crank 36, gear 32, pinion 38 andcam48 will. cause the pawl member 44 to rotatefor rotating the spool 16 forthe winding-in operation. This rotation of the pawl member 44 will, ofcourse, cause a rotary movement of the pawl carrier 58, because of theconnection of these members through the pin 56; and this rotary movementof the pawl carrier 58 will be tensioned by slipping movement within theannular spring 60.

It is obvious that a reverse or backward rotary movement of the pinion38 will cause a corresponding reverse movement of the cam member 48 andsaid member, traveling to the right as indicated in Figure 7, will causeinterengagement of its cam surfaces with the internal cam surface 46 torotate the pawl member 44 to the right, thus disengaging the tooth 42from the internal ratchet 40 and positively holding the pawl member indisengaged position. This leaves the spool 16 entirely free to rotate asrequired in making a cast, and such rotation of the spool is entirelyfree and untrammeled by any other moving parts of the mechanism.

In some free spool mechanism dependence is placed upon the outwardtravel of the line in making a cast for releasing the spool from itsclutch connections to the winding mechanism. In such construction thereis of course a friction or drag on the line to accomplish this releaseand I have obviated this difiiculty by providing a means for positivelyproducing the release of the spool without reference to the outwardtravel of the line.

This is accomplished by the action. of a retractile spring whichproduces a backward snap action of the crank when it is released by theoperator. i

To accomplish. this a clamp device is mounted for limited rotaryn'iovement on the inner end portion of the sleeve 34 of the windingmechanism. This clamp device consists of two clamp members designated byI the numerals 66 and 68 which cooperate to substantially'embrace thesleeve within the housing 24.

The clamp members 66 and 68 are formed respectively with hooks 7 O and 72 at one end l which are interengaged as shown in. Figure 5 forremovablyand'pivotally holding the clamp members together. The oppositeendsof the clamp members 66 and 68 are yieldingly connected by a coilspring 74.

The clamp member 68 is formed with a radiall v extending arm 76 which isarranged for limited travel between stops 7 8 and 80 head plate 10. g

the clamp member. l

.1 Aretractile coil-s ring 182 is connected at one. end to the radiaarm-76 and is suitably anchored at its opposite endas by a pin 84(Figure 3) to the-headplatev10.v When the winding-in operation isstarted by turning the hand crank 36, the radial arm -76 is turned fromit's'no-rmal position indi: cate'dbysolid lines in Figure 5, wherein itis held in engagement withthe stop 7 8 by the spring 82. v This turningmovement 1 is accomplished because of the frictional engage- -ment ofthe clamp members 66 and 68 with .the sleeve 34,v caused by the actionof the spring 7 4 which is of greater strength than the spring 82, andsuchmovement continues untilthearm 7 6 engages the stop 80 as indicatedby dotted lines. This causes the retractile spring 82 to be placed undertensiomand thereafter turning movement of the hand -*erank will causethe sleeve 34 to slip within When the hand crank 36 is voluntarilyreleased by the operator, the retractile spring 82, which has previouslybeen placed under tension, immediately acts to pull the arm 76 in thedirection of' the arrow in Figure 5, and the clamping engagement of themombers 66 and 68 on the sleeve 34 under the infiuence of the spring74,causes a slight reverse movement of said sleeve,as limited by l thetravel of the arm 76 from the stop 80 to fthestop78." i

This backward movement of the sleeve 34 is communicated through the gear32 and pinion 38 to the cam member 48 which is thus caused to move inthe direction of the arrow b in Figure -7 for releasing the pawl member44-. from the ratchet 40. By. this positive 40- means thespool 16 isimmediately released "and freed from the winding'and clutch mechanismand is permitted to turn freely on its.

' spindle 28 so that a cast maybe made without any drag or friction onthe line 18.

It frequently occurs that a fish makes a strike and causes an outwardpull on the line 18while the operator is still holding the hand crank36, as for winding in the line. In such an event there is a pull onthespo'ol in the direction of the arrow 03 in Figure 7 and this tug or pull'acts to pull a tooth of the internal ratchet 40 against the tooth 42of the pawl member 44 and causea frictional engagement of these parts.This pull and the consequent frictional engagement is sufficient tomaintain the clutch connections in engaged position, even though thepull on the line may have been suflicientto causesthe operator torelease the hand crank 36. In other words, the free-spool clutchmechanism does not release when subjected'to a sudden outward tug on'theline such as might be caused'by the sudden strike of a heavy fish. Thatis to say, suchan involuntary release of thehand crank will not resultin the backwardsnap andrelease of theclutch mechanism through action ofthe retractile spring-82 as previously described, but on the other handthe function of said retractile spring is temporarily renvented. I v

- However, as soon as the operator again rega ns control of thesituation and moves the crank 36 forwardly'as in the operation ofwindingthe line back onto the spool, the retractile spring 82 becomesoperative and should a voluntary release of the crank then occur, thefree-spool mechanismis again in position forreleasing thespool to make afree cast. 1 I

It is obvious that by my, improved freespool mechanism I have providednot only positive means for releasing the spool from the othermechanismfor making a cast, but

also for temporarily rendering said frees spool mechanism inoperativewhen an outward pull occurs on the line.

"In the successful operation of the present free-spool mechanism I placeconsiderable importance on the use of the cam member 48 a for engagingthe internal'cam 46 to positively vmove the pawl member 44 to and from.engaging position with the internal ratchet of the spool. a v

I also place considerable importance on the construction of the clampingmember frictionally engaged-by means of the springs 74-l with the sleeveof the winding gear, for providing a connection for the end of theretractile spring 82. The use of the clamping members and clampingspring 7 4 insure a uniform and steady frictional engagement with thelsleeve, which will not deteriorate with use.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement ofthe'parts of my device without- 'departing from the real spirit andpurpose of myinvention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims,any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, whichmay be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention I 1. In a fishing reel, a frame, a winding"member having a hand crank thereon a gear on said winding member, aspool mounted for rotation in said frame, clutch means for connectingsaid spool with said gear whereby the spool may be rotated in onedirection when said crank is turned. a clamp device frictionallyengaging said windlng memberand composed of'a pa r of clamp memberspivotally connected and a spring for applyingtension acting to produce asnap reverse movement on sait free rotation in said frame, a pinionmeshing with said gear, a cam arran ed for rotation w ith said pinion,an internal ratchet gear car- 'of'said gearfordisconnecting the clutchconnections to said spool, whenforceis released voluntarily from saidcrank.

2. In a fishing'reel, a frame, a winding member having a hand crankthereon, a gear 7 on said winding member, a spool mounted for freerotation in said frame, a pinion meshing with said gear, a cam arrangedforrotation said pawl member being formed with a central opening havingan irregular contour for engagement by said cam for positively movingthe tooth of said pawl member into and out of. engagement. 7

3. In a fishing reel, a frame, a winding member having a hand crankthereon, a gear on said winding member, aspool mounted for free rotationin said frame, a pinion meshing with said gear, a cam arranged forrotation with said pinion, an internal ratchet gear carried by saidspool, a pawl member having tooth for engaging said ratchet member, saidpawl memberbeing formed with a central opening having an irregularcontour for engagement by said cam for positively moving the tooth ofsaid pawl member into and out of engagement, and spring devicesconnectedwith and acting upon said gear for producing a. limited reversemovement and causing said cam to disengage the pawl memher from saidratchet member at times.

4. In a fishing reel, a frame, a winding member having a hand crankthereon, a gear 'inding member, a spool mounted for ried by said spool,a pawl member having a tooth for engaging said ratchet member, said pawlmember being formed with a central opening having an irregular contourfor engagement by said'cam for positively moving the tooth of said pawlmember into and out of engagement, a rotatably mounted pawl carrier onwhich said pawl member is pivoted, and yielding means for anchoring saidpawl carrier and restraining free rotation thereof.

5. I11 a fishingireel, a frame, a winding member having a hand crankthereon, a gear on said winding member, a spool mounted for freerotation in said frame, a pinion meshing with said gear, a cam arrangedfor rotation with said pinion, an internal ratchet gear carried by saidspool, a pawl member having a tooth for engaging said ratchet member,said pawl member being formed with a central opening having an irregularcontour for engagement by said cam for positively moving the tooth ofsaid pawl member into and out of engagement, a rotatably mounted pawlcarrier onwhich said pawl member is eccentrfcally pivoted, said carrierbeing formed ,w1tha peripheral groove, and an anchoring turning saidgear, a spool mounted for free rotation in the frame and adapted toreceive a line, a pinion meshing with said gear, a pawl carrierrotatably mounted, yielding means for restraining said carrier againstfree rotation, a pawl member eccentrically 'lli pivoted on said carrier,an internal ratchet gear fixed to said spool, said pawl member beingformed with means for operatively engaging said ratchet gear and alsobeing formed with an opening of irregular contour" to form an internalcam, and a cam member arranged for rotation with said pinion, said cammember being located within the opening of said pawl member and adaptedby engage- Q ment with the walls thereof to move the pawl 8 member toand from operative engagement with said ratchet gear.

7. In a fishing reel, a frame, a: winding gear rotatably mountedtherein, a hand crank for o turning said gear, a spool mounted for freerotation in the frame and adapted to receive a line, a pimon meshingwith said gear, a pawl carrier rotatably mounted, yielding means forrestraining said carrier against free roa tation, a pawl membereccentrlcally p1voted95 on said carrier, an internal ratchet gear fixedto said spool, said pawl member being formed with -1neans foroperatlvely engaging said ratchet gear and also being formed with anopening of irregular contour to form an 111-100 ternal cam, a cam memberarranged for retation with said pinion, said cam member being locatedwithin the opening of said pawl member and adapted by engagement withthe Walls thereof to move the pawl member to 905 and from operativeengagement with said ratchet gear, amember frictionally engaging andarranged for limited rotary movement with said winding gear, and aretractile spring connected with said friction member T10 and adapted tobe placed under tension when said gear is turned for winding in theline, said retractile spring acting upon release of the winding force tocause a limited reverse movement of the gear for causing said cam to I15disengage the pawl member from the ratchet gear.

8. In a fishing reel, a frame, a winding gear rotatably mounted therein,a hand crank for turning said gear, a spool mounted for free 120rotation in the frame and adapted to receive a lme,-a pinion meshingwith said gear, apawl carrier rotatably mounted, yielding means forrestraining said carrier against free rotation, a pawl membereccentrically L26 pivoted on said carrier, an internal ratchet gearfixed to said spool, said pawl member being formed with means foroperatively engaging said ratchet gear and-also being,

formed with an opening ofirregular contour to form an internal cam, acam member arranged for rotation'with said pinion, said cam member beinglocated within the open ing of said pawl member and adapted byengagement with the walls thereof to move the pawl member to and fromoperative engagement with said ratchet gear, a member frictionallyengaging and arranged for limited rotarymovement with said winding gear,and a retractile spring connected with said friction member and adaptedto be placed under tension when said gear is turned for winding in theline, said retractile spring acting upon release of the winding force tocause a limited reverse movement of the gear for causing said cam todisenga e the pawlmember from the ratchet gear, t e engagement of thepawl member with the ratchet gear being suflicient to preventoperationof the retractile spring and freeing of the spool when backpressure is applied by an outward tug on the line.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 9, 1930.

JOE KAUTZKY, JR.

